1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a computer starter and a starting method for an ATX computer system capable of turning on the computer system upon insertion of a smart card, protecting data stored therein by the performance of a verification procedure, and selectively blocking a start signal from an external panel under certain situations.
2. Description of the Related Art
A typical microprocessor-cored computer system, such as a personal computer or a workstation computer, is turned on and off by a switch device that mechanically connects/disconnects a power supply of the computer system to/from an external voltage source, such as AC 110V. When the switch device is open, the power supply is disconnected from the external voltage source, and the computer system is turned off. On the contrary, when the switch device is closed, the power supply is connected to the external voltage source and transforms the external voltage into a predetermined DC level, such as .+-.5V and .+-.12V, and the computer system is turned on to perform various programs and functions.
However, such a mechanical switch device relies on human hands to turn the computer system on or off, so the computer system can not be turned on or off when no one is present. Further, once the mechanical switch device is closed, the computer system directly enters into a start procedure. As a result, the computer system is vulnerable to unauthorized access if there is no verification procedure performed by BIOS firmware or OS-level software. That is, anyone who is close to the computer system can easily steal the data stored in the computer system.
A Macintosh personal computer system manufactured by Apple Computer Inc., Cupertino, Calif. is designed in a manner that the computer system can be turned on or off by predetermined keys on a keyboard. This is an easy way to turn the computer system on or off; however, the data stored in the computer system are still as unprotected as in conventional computer systems. In this case, the computer system continues to monitor the keyboard and enables a power supply of the computer system when a start signal is detected, i.e., when the predetermined keys are pressed. This is so-called soft power control, in which anyone can press the predetermined keys to turn the computer system on or off and freely access the data stored therein. To increase data security, BIOS firmware or OS-level software is also needed.
Intel Corporation, Santa Clara, Calif. provides an ATX specification for personal computer systems in which a power supply is controlled not only by two states (open and closed) of a mechanical switch device, but also by an internal chipset. This is another soft power control, whereby the computer system can be turned on or off by both a mechanical switch and an internal chipset.
For ATX specification version 2.01, a computer system will keep a standby voltage of 5V even after the computer system is turned off. The standby voltage is a DC voltage, which can provide a maximum current of 0.7 A to drive a power control circuit of the computer system when the computer system is turned off. The power control circuit can be preset for ease of operation and various functions in a manner that, for example, the computer system can automatically fax documents at predetermined time at night to reduce telephone cost, the computer system can be automatically triggered by a modem call to receive incoming e-mails and files, . . . and so on.
However, the ATX computer system also does not provide any verification procedure to protect data stored therein. Therefore, anyone who presses a power switch can still drive the power supply and turn on the computer system. As a result, BIOS firmware or OS-level software is also needed to perform a verification procedure and stop anyone without a password.
Once BIOS firmware or OS-level software are provided in the ATX computer system to perform a verification procedure, any unauthorized person may repeatedly turn the power supply of the computer system on and off to try out a password. This is because BIOS firmware or OS-level software only accepts a limited number of successive passwords and will lock if all these passwords are wrong. Thus, the unauthorized person must reset the power supply to try more passwords.
However, as known by a person skilled with computers, the power supply will likely be destroyed after being repeatedly turned on and off. Although a well-designed power supply is often provided with a protective circuit, abnormal operations such as being repeatedly turned on and off still have a negative impact on the peripherals, such as a hard disc or a CD-ROM.